Special Blend: Coffee Shop Serves Up Free Legal Advice

The Legal Grind, a Santa Monica coffee shop, is setting itself apart from other Westside java joints by combining two things that make people jittery: lawyers and coffee.

Eight lawyers give free legal advice to customers at the shop at 2640 Lincoln Blvd.

The lawyers are experienced in such areas as bankruptcy, landlord-tenant disputes, family law, entertainment, copyrights and immigration.

Jeffrey Hughes, a lawyer who owns the coffee shop, opened the Legal Grind nine weeks ago with the intent of making legal advice more available to people--especially the middle class, which is not eligible for most free legal services, he said.

The Legal Grind is designed for people who are wondering if they have a legal case that is worth hiring an attorney to handle and for people who have simple legal questions.

“Most people can’t afford $150 an hour just to have a question answered,” he said.